Abstract:
This study evaluates the techno-economic performance of hybrid PV–CSP power plants using high-temperature particle receivers and compares them directly with molten salt-based alternatives, with all systems integrated into supercritical CO2 (sCO2) Brayton power blocks. A unified simulation and optimization framework is applied to quantify the cost and performance potential of particle-based CSP when combined with PV and long-duration thermal storage. For a representative 10 MWe plant located in Évora (Portugal), particle hybrid PV–CSP– sCO2 systems achieve minimum LCOE of 72 EUR/MWh at capacity factors near 80%, demonstrating that particle-based systems can enable competitive firm renewable electricity at small scale. Results show that sCO2 cycle layouts including intercooling only can match the techno-economic performance of more advanced configurations because their lower specific investment outweighs differences in thermal efficiency. Parallel electric-heater integration allows flexible TES charging and consistently outperforms EH in series arrangements, which require oversized PV capacities. Sensitivity analyses quantify the main impacts on the LCOE, driven by solar-field and power-block costs, whereas TES cost plays a secondary role. When the system is in a high-DNI location such as Likana (Chile), the minimum LCOE decreases by 20% and achievable capacity factors exceed 90%, with CSP becoming the dominant generation technology and eliminating the need for electric heating. System-level benchmarking against PV–BESS, molten salt tower and trough CSP, and PV-based electric-heater systems shows that particle hybrid PV–CSP– sCO2 plants consistently deliver the lowest LCOE at capacity factors above 60% at a competitive cost.
Salvatore Guccione, Rafael Guedez, Techno-economic comparative analysis of hybrid PV-CSP systems: particle vs. molten salt based layouts integrated with sCO2 power blocks, Solar Energy, Volume 318, 2026, 115061, ISSN 0038-092X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2026.115061
